Demetrious Johnson talks about his reaction to ONE transfer

When we found out that the UFC was getting Ben Askren we were as happy as one could be about the signing. It ended up being bittersweet because it meant that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was leaving. The exchange of fighters between the UFC and ONE organizations was groundbreaking to say the least because it meant two things. One, the UFC admits that other organizations have value and two, it meant that Dana White and Ben Askren appeared to have squashed their beef. We aren’t sure which one made us happier.

Johnson is a big grab for ONE because he is the consensus flyweight GOAT and a great fit for them. He brings legitimacy and it accomplished their mission of getting mainstream attention. One person who seemed more excited than anyone in the ONE marketing department was DJ himself. Here’s what he said his initial thoughts were about it via BJPenn.com…

Oh let’s make it happen. Obviously I’ve been deemed as the chief brand ambassador. It’s funny because before they told me that role, I was already in BlizzCon talking to one of their strategists about what’s going to be the best name for the company, how would it go, what games they’ve been thinking about. I had a little meeting with those guys trying to figure out what games we’re going to bring in for ONE Championship. So I’m very excited about it. And I knew about this prior to me making the full move over to ONE Championship.

Johnson also feels that he’s not the forgotten about “midget” champion…

ONE Championship, I feel they’re not just getting behind me, but they’re getting behind all the athletes that share the same values as me… honor, humility, respect discipline, and that’s why I feel it’s going to be a better fit for me

We wish DJ all the luck in the world and success in the organization. He has earned the future legend status that he will surely be remembered as.